Feeling damaged. Ugh… girl problems!

Just to let you know, there’s going to be SO much TMI going on in this post. I know everyone says that but I really had to think about this one before posting.

So I recently started having pains in my side and just an overall uncomfortable feeling, especially when my bladder was full. I had to run to the bathroom to pee because that was the only way to ease the pain. After a few doctor’s visits and tests, I was told I have a 6cm cyst on my right ovary. I had to wait until after I had my next period to go get the size checked again. I thought to myself… okay, no big deal. But when I went to a different gynecologist (the first one I saw was in the ER) after my period, he had told me that the cyst is the same size it was before. It’s good because it didn’t get bigger but bad because it’s not going away and due to its size, I’m probably going to have to get it removed. However, the gyno advised me to wait 3-4 months to see if it goes away on its own. Even after he told me there’s a risk of cysts bursting or twisting, I didn’t think much of it.

He then decided to do a pap test just in case and, low and behold, he tells me I have an outer cyst on the left size of my vaginal wall. That was my breaking point… I almost cried. Now I have something on the right AND left side, on the inside AND the outside of my lady parts.

This is where my issue began. I just started feeling like I’m damaged somehow… like there is something really wrong with me/it’s my fault that I have these cysts.

I know this is silly on some level because I realize that cysts are common… but they’re not common for ME. I’ve never had gynecological problems until the past year. In september I had to go on antibiotics while battling a nasty case of strep (the test came back negative but I’m positive that’s what it was) and that caused me to develop a yeast infection. I didn’t know this at the time and thought I did it to myself somehow but, after talking to the pharmacist, I realized it’s a pretty common side effect when you’re on antibiotics. I didn’t know this as I have never been on any before.

A few months after that, I managed to get a UTI. After some antibiotics (which I didn’t end up finishing), the UTI went away but came back a month later and I had to take even more pills. This was two months ago and everything was getting back to normal… until now.

I just don’t understand why after 24 years, I started getting all these gynecological problems. I know things could be worse but I can’t help but feel horrible about myself. My fiance is so amazing about the whole situation and he makes me feel so much better about everything… BUT I still get the “what’s wrong with me?” feelings.

Sorry if this post was super long. I just wanted to see if anyone has ever had a similar experience… especially with cysts of that size. I really want someone to reassure me that these cysts can go away on their own and that I didn’t somehow do this to myself. Talking to the gyno was nice but he sees women like me every day, so he’s not the best at pretending he cares LOL.

Hi! Firstly I’ll say that I’m very sorry that you are going through all this and I can relate to almost everything you’ve posted about! I started having gynocological problems when I was 22 (I’m now 32) and have had several reproductive issues since then, including my period sort of “going away” for over 6 months as well as ovarian cysts. Unfortunately, my cysts were unknown and a large (think chicken egg sized) cyst that was on my right ovary did torse (twist, as your doctor mentioned) and rupture, causing a ridiculous amount of pain and an overnight trip to the ER. I hope this is not frightening you, but I’m sharing so that you know that other women have gone through these things and there really isn’t anything I could have done to prevent them. I have always had my annual checkups and it was just never found. My cyst that torsed was a particular kind of cyst called a dermoid cyst, which does not go away on its own, unlike other cysts that can shrink depending on hormones. What ended up happening was that the size of my cyst and severe torsion that had occured led me to lose my right ovary and both had to be removed in a surgery several months later. I would say it was a “worse case scenario” kind of thing, but perhaps not the norm.

If you would like a second opinion I say go for it and go see another doctor, but I found that my doctors mostly erred on the side of caution because of my age and were concerned that I would lose the ovary. I’m not sure if it could have been prevented (losing the ovary), but your doctor seems to be monitoring the size carefully. From what I have read about cysts, many can be from hormone levels and I was first put on birth control for the second, smaller cyst that was not a dermoid, and I think it went away. Maybe doing a bit more research will help you, but from what I have read, there is nothing we can do about these pesky cysts. I wish you the best of luck and I hope the shared experience is helpful and not harmful!

tattiibee: Probably four months after I’d met my SO, I found myself in the ER after a few weeks of really intense abdominal pain (which I’d, embarrassingly enough attributed to gas or something…. whoops).

Turns out I had a baseball (yes baseball) sized ovarian cyst. I’d never had them before and to my knowledge haven’t had one after but my mom and sis had them A LOT. After a very long night in the ER (which, oddly enough, was the first night I really thought my guy was a keeper after he stayed with me all night long), they weren’t sure if the cyst was a dermoid (requiring surgery) or a regular fluid filled one.

One month later (while taking some pain pills and taking it easy), I went back for another oh-so-fun ultrasound and poof, cyst was gone. No surgery required. Haven’t had it happen again and to this day I’m not sure what caused it. I was newly on depo (birth control) so that may have caused it? I feel your pain girl. Heating pads (especially the sticky kind you can get at the drug store and stick to you during the day) are a lifesaver!

AHart77: Thanks for sharing your experience! Even though it scares me to death that the same thing will happen to me, it was most definitely helpful to hear what you’ve gone through. See that’s the other thing.. I’ve been on birth control for about 3 and a half years now so it’s strange that I would get one as I heard birth control prevents cysts. Mine is a low-dose pill though so maybe that’s why it didn’t help at preventing it as well as a higher dose would have.

MsKnitter: I’m SO glad to hear your cyst went away just like that. I’m so scared mine won’t but am hoping for the best outcome. The pain doesn’t seem to be too bad now and it only really hurts if I’m doing a physical activity for a very long time (I’m talking 10-11 hour shifts at work), so I’m hoping it’s a good sign. Fingers crossed!

PS my future mother in law has a buddy pillow that you can heat up in the microwave and it did WONDERS for me when I was going through my first UTI (I had some side and back pain), but I’m definitely a fan of the ones you stick on as well. So convenient!! 🙂

tattiibee: Hey so sorry you’re going through this. I’m about the same age as you and also been struggling with ovarian cysts since the start of the year. I too am frustrated because I’ve also never had any gynecological issues before. I found out I had a cyst because it ruptured, had to have surgery and now it’s come back… also around the same size as yours.

It must’ve been really hard to hear that you had a second cyst in your vaginal wall as well 🙁 *hugs* here’s hoping both of ours go away by themselves. Stories like MsKnitter ‘s make me a bit more hopeful. Just like her, I was newly on birth control (low dose as well), so it was a weird coincidence that the cyst popped up just as I started… I’ve gone off it now to see if anything changes. My gynecologist tells me birth control prevents cysts as well though. Will have to wait and see.

Feel free to chat to me about this whenever because I’m in exactly the same position as you!

shazzshazshz:tattiibee: I should also mention, I was 31 years old when that happened! Had gone all that time with no gynocological problems and then bam ended up in the ER. I am not sure why! Haven’t had one since so hopefully it will go away like mine did!

I have never has so much as a dust allergy for 29 years then all of a sudden I started developing all these stomach problems. It seemed no matter what I ate, didn’t eat, medications I took or doctors I’d seem, nothing helped. I’ve finally gotten a hold of my issue over the past year but it was over 18 months of agony and worry before that.

Now I’m suffering from what the doctor “thinks” is BV (bacterial vaginosis). I’ve never even had a yeast infection, and this has been going on for a MONTH now. My FI and I haven’t had sex in about 5 weeks which looks like it’ll be going into 7, since I had my period before this began, it’s been bothering me for 4 weeks, and I get my period again Sunday. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. None of the meds the docs have given me worked (I’ve been to two people now).

OP I actually started having issues when I was 27, a whole slew of them which ended up being attributed to Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. After 3.5 years of activily battling the disease I ended up having to have a full thyroidectomy due to cellular degeneration and cystic nodules this past February. Turns out it was just in time since if I had waiting any longer, like 6 months longer, I would be in RAI Isolation this month.

Anyway, the surgery was the best decision of my life and it has now been 8 full weeks – despite having a difficult recovery the first month or so due to post operative complications I was finally starting to feel better than I have in years…

But then 2 weeks ago the Hubs and I decided to DTD before going out to dinner (it was my fertile window and we are TTC). As soon as he pulled out my stomach had this weird weighted feeling and my pelvic floor started to cramp. Then my lower abdomen started to distend and it felt like I had horrific gas and everything was pulling in my stomach, from my cervix to my diaphram.

I ended up unable to stand, unable to breath, unable to sit, or lay down on my right side the whole night. Chills, sweats, fainting, you name it. When my diaghram started siezing and cramping that morning around 3 am (9 hours later) I knew it wasnt food poisoning. I didn’t want to go to the ER cause I was over Doctors and ER visits from the month before and so I waited until I could call my nurses hotline the next day. Turns out my doctor was on call that weekend and he called me immediatly when he heard I was having trouble. At this point I was still having pelvic and abdominal pain but it was less severe than the night before – I could still barely pee or stand up and the pain was still in my diaphram and settled into my neck and shoulder whenever I would try to breath.

We went over my symptoms and he explained that I had a Cystic Rupture and that the pain in my diaphram and shoulder was due to the blood and fluid that had pooled in my abdominal cavity and that everything was agitated. Since it had already ruptured and I was improving he advised that I just stay home. It took me 3 days before I was able to sit up comfortable and a full week before I was able to go on a walk or wk out again. I still have some minor cramping when I have BM (and I mean, like a twing) so for the most part I am recovered. Today I got my period for the 1st time and even though its pretty painf I am relieved that its on schedule to the day. I am dissapointed despite not being too surprised that im not KU though. It was even sadder that this morning I was late to work cause I didn’t want to wake up from a dream I had where I had just given birth to a beautiful baby boy and they had just placed him in my arms and I had began to nurse him..

My doc suspects that the reason the egg follicule didnt fall off is due to the hormones needing to be regulated from my surgery. Everyone agrees that its a great sign that I am making eggs though.. so who knows.. perhaps May will be our month.

Good luck, OP. I had no idea why they don’t teach girls about these things from a young age! I have never experienced something so painful in my life and until it happened I actually had no clue this was a thing.

BurlapnLace: Oh my gosh I’m so sorry you’re going through this! It’s so frustrating when nothing helps ease the symptoms. The worst part is that the people who should know what’s wrong (doctors), don’t. Ugh! I really wish you all the best and hope you feel better soon!

shazzshazshz: Your post makes me so nervous. I’m scared to death that the cyst will rupture. It sounds like the most painful thing on earth! I keep hearing stories of people who removed their cysts and they never came back after that, so it really sucks that you were one of the exceptions to this. Hope your new cyst goes away on its own though!!

I might actually take you up on that offer and message you! Sometimes the whole experience is just overwhelming and I have a million and one questions!

Starling13: OKAY! If there was ANYONE who freaked me out about the whole situation the most, it’s you!! I’m terrified of having sex now!! The whole experience sounds like a complete nightmare!

I agree 100% that this should be taught to young girls, maybe we wouldn’t be so terrified if we knew what to expect! I wish you all the best!!

This brings up a few questions… it would be amazing if anyone could shed some light on these…

1. What actually causes the cyst to burst? I can’t seem to find an answer for this! I have a very physically damanding job so it’s always on my mind.

2. I’m supposed to be flying in a couple of months and my friend kindly pointed out to me that my cyst might rupture due to the pressure. This is a 12 hour flight I’m talking about, so obviously I’m concerned! I haven’t even thought of that happening so… just one more thing to stress about!

tattiibee: Unfortunately, I will concur that the torsion and rupture was the most painful experience I’ve had thus far, and the surgery to remove the cyst and my ovary was like getting a tooth filled in comparison. The fluid buildup I experienced was similar to what @Starling13 described, and it took more than a week before I felt like myself again- quite possibly a month. I will say, however, that I think my torsion had been going on for a couple of weeks because a week prior I had an incident where I felt very full, bloated, and crampy, and actually ran a fever. Things sort of settled down for a couple of days then I ran one morning, ate Indian food that night, and the next day was when I was hospitalized (I mention the food because I wasn’t feeling well the next morning and thought it was just maybe indigestion from the spicy food). It began as just a feeling of being very full and some discomfort then increased until I was doubling over in pain and could barely move in a few hours. I was actually terrified that it was my appendix, as it occurred on my right side as well.

That being said, I really have no idea if anything I did caused the rupture (running, etc.) and my doctor told me at one point that excercise was fine because everything in your reproductive system is pretty safe beneath layers of skin and muscle. As for the plane ride, that’s something I would definitely call my doctor about, as I’ve not heard that and I was not instructed not to fly. I hope that’s helpful and also, feel free to message me with more questions! Also, my cyst appeared in 2010 and I’ve been cyst-free since then 🙂 Because of the size and type of cyst (dermoid), my doc says that it had been growing for years.

AHart77: Yes, I have an appointment next week to get the size checked again (I swear if I had an ultrasound machine at home, it would make things so much better for me lol), and I will be asking all these questions.

Phew, I just got back into working out right before I found out I have the cyst and it felt sooo good. But I was beginning to get sad that I’ll have to stop until this cyst business is over with. Thanks for making me feel better!

Chandler114: Ahh! You are SO sweet. Thank you soo much for the kind words, you’re amazing!

tattiibee: oh my gosh to my horror I just re read what I had said when I got the email you had replied. And I realized I put “are damaged” I meant to put not!!! I am always on my phone with this stuff. STUPID CELL PHONE! lol.

tattiibee: I am back! So last week was very difficult for me.. Apparently I’m still not recovered from the rupture (its been a total of 17 days since) and when I got my period on the day that I posted I was sent back into a whole world of pain. The cramps I got that night were same / simliar to when the rupture occured, although it didnt last all night, only for about 3 hours non stop.. Then subsided and were sporadic for the next 48 hours. My period ended up being super light, to the point where I only required panty-liners which really made me suspicious and I was almost hopeful that what I am experiencing was an actual pregancy. After spotting and bleeding all weekend I am pretty sure I am NOT, though. Haven’t bothered to take a test just cause logically I know its very unlikely – especially due to cyst. So anyway, the cramps are still off and on, but the are subsiding and I am offically over my period. My OB wants me to come in for some imaging, but I am going to wait this week out before I do. I just dont want to go see another doctor!!

So the type of cyst I had was a follicular cyst, also known as a ‘Functional’ cyst. As my doctor put it, “Ovaries make cysts for a living”. When a mature egg is selected for ovulation, it is encapsuled into a cyst and when your hormones are right it is dropped out. Sometimes, like in my case, the egg isnt properly dropped and remains in the cyst. The cyst then basically grows and filles with hormonal fluid, usually it is reabsorbed into the body, with no symptoms, other times it is ruptured – usually by sexual intercourse or rigorous excercise. Some women (the unlucky ones) discover they have a growing cyst after going to the doctor from severe discomfort and they have to have them surgically removed.

AHart77: I too was terrified when it first happened and thouhgt I was having appendix problems!! The pain is so unlike anything and its soo intense, and so so sooo scary!